Door 17

"Don't you get a Christmas tree?" Samuel asked Montague during dinner. It had continued to snow the past few days. Angelina, Emily and Samuel had spent every day outside in the snow.

"I never have a Christmas tree." Montague's reply caused three forks to fall soundly onto three plates.

"What!" Montague asked annoyed as he saw three very similar looks of shock on their faces.

"No tree?" Emily asked with wide eyes. She looked at Angelina to see if maybe he was only joking, but Angelina looked just as shocked as Emily herself did. Although Angelina wondered silently why she still wondered about that. Of course he wouldn't have a Christmas tree.

"But everyone has a Christmas tree! Even Miss Robert has one in the orphanage." Emily said still unbelieving.

Angelina had taken her fork back in her hand and was looking at Montague with raised eyebrows. He was glaring at her and she could practically hear him scream in his mind 'I'm not getting a tree!'. She wondered just who would win in the end.

"It would look good in the living room next to the library. On the right side of the fireplace." Emily said and smiled sweetly at Montague. Angelina fought hard to hide her smile from him when his glare intensified.

"We could decorate it together." Emily continued.

"We could go together into the forest and search for one."

Montague sighed and turned his attention to Emily who was still smiling innocently at him.

"You won't stop before I agree on this, are you?"

Emily's smile brightened.

"So, we're going to get one?"

"It's not as though I have anything to say here anymore anyway." Montague murmured and glared at Angelina as though he wanted to say 'This is all your fault! She is turning into a mini-Johnson!'

But Angelina just did as Emily and smiled at him, although to be correct, her smile was less innocent and more victorious.

"Okay, how about this one?" Montague asked obviously annoyed.

"No, the tip isn't right." Samuel decided and so the walked on.

"How about this one?" Angelina asked and pointed at a fir. Samuel and Emily agreed.

"Great, number 27 it is then." Montague muttered. He was just glad he was a wizard. He would go mad if he had to do this the muggle way! A quick wave with his wrist and a Latin word later and the tree was laying bound together in the snow before him.

"Wingardium Leviosa." Montague said and the tree rose in the air. Montague walked back, wanting to get back to his house as soon as possible. It was way to cold to be out on one's own free will.

Something cold and hard hit him in the back of his head and the tree fell down when his concentration was broken. He turned around to face Angelina, who had Samuel on her right and Emily on her left hand. Montague ran his glove-covered hand over his hair.

"You find that funny?" He asked Angelina who was looking confused at him.

"What do you mean?"

Montague glared at her and bowed slowly to reach for the snow. He formed a ball in his hands and arose just as slowly as he had bowed.

"Uh… what exactly do you think you're doing?" Angelina asked and took a step back.

"Ever heard the word revenge? You throw a snowball at me and I'm throwing a snowball at you."

"What snowball?" Angelina asked innocently and took another step back, letting go of Samuel and Emily's hands in the process.

"Montague…" she said warningly when he came slowly closer.

"You won't dare…"

"You really think so?" he asked and raised his eyebrows at her.

"Think again!"

Angelina gasped and turned around to run away from him. She didn't get far, though. She could already hear Montague behind her and ducked her head, expecting the snowball to hit her every moment now. But instead of a snowball hitting her head, a strong pair of arms caught her around her waist and kept her from running.

Before she could protest he had thrown her over his shoulder, carrying her as though she was a sack of potatoes.

"Hey, let me down! Now!" Angelina demanded and hammered onto his back.

"Forget it! I'm not going to have more snowballs thrown at me." Montague told her as he carried her back to where Samuel and Emily waited with the tree.

"I promise I won't throw another one at you!"

"Of course you won't. Because I'm not giving you the chance to do so!"

"Montague, let me down! You won't be able to carry me and concentrate on the tree at the same time anyway." Angelina tried to reason with him. But Montague proved her wrong. She could hear Samuel and Emily laugh when they started their way back to the house.

"I have no problem at all carrying you and concentrating on the tree, Johnson." Montague said and turned his head slightly while doing so.

"By the way, nice ass."

"Montague!" Angelina tried to get off from his shoulder but Montague held tightly onto her legs and now he was even laughing! Angelina couldn't remember ever having heard him laugh. For a moment she even forgot to struggle. Not that it would make him let her down anyway. No, he carried her until they reached the house again, and even brought the tree into the living room before he let her down again.